The use of portable electronic devices—such as but not limited to mobile communication devices (such as cellular phones or a smart phones), music players, remote controls, electronic navigation devices (such as Global Positioning System devices), portable DVD players, a portable digital assistants (PDAs) and portable computers (such as tablet computers or laptop computers)—has become widespread. Many portable electronic devices are handheld, that is, sized and shaped to be held or carried in a human hand. These devices often include or are often powered by one or more rechargeable batteries.
When the power level of the battery is depleted, the device is generally inoperable and the battery may require recharging before the device becomes operable. In order to avoid this situation, some current devices provide an indicator indicating power remaining in the battery, however, these indicators only provide approximate information relating to the remaining life of the battery. For instance, some devices provide an indication of battery life in 25% segments while others provide in other increments with margins of error such as +/−10%. Some indications of battery life are inaccurate in that they may not fairly and accurately reflect how much power is left in the battery and whether or not the device can perform certain functions (as some functions may require more power than others).